Blindly
by valbino
Summary: Rewrite! AU-ish, pre-timeskip. ItachixOC. One informant is not worth a pair of Akatsuki, they realized. Incomplete.
1. Introductory

AN: Ahh yes, the rewrite! With more romance, plot, and wordy stuff! :P As I complete Dichotomy I'll be working with this too.

I'm thinkin' I'm gonna take Lightning down and then work it all under the "Blindly" title! Will end up taking down original "Blindly" too. :)

Most of the OCs named were named that because I thought the name appropriate. Can't remember what they meant anymore though, haha. Some of them will defs be mentioned later.

Here's to the best rewrite yet.

Hope you enjoy!

Introductory

_"Do you know what you've done? You've just sent your own daughter to the vultures!"_

_"What of it? She won't use the gifts given to her."_

_The bearded man gave a heavy sigh. "As her teacher, I can tell you that her 'gifts' are in close combat. She can beat a katana with a kunai."_

_The other, tall and limber, with hauntingly pale green eyes, slammed his fist on the balcony's hard stone surface. "She has provided Akatsuki with valuable information! Am I supposed to let it be because she happens to be talented? Look at what happened to so many others! The Uchiha clan of Konoha! The Senju! They are either dead or too dispersed to be of use."_

_"So you are letting Kirino torture your Arashi over it? Even with overwhelming evidence to prove it? It's unlike you, Hayato."_

_"She brought it on herself," Hayato murmured._

_"The guilt was punishment enough. She's not usually impulsive like this, though. Zappo is the impulsive one," the other one, called Jikan, murmured._

_"What's done is done. I wouldn't be in a position to change it if I was so inclined."_

_The two men somberly stepped inside as the sun set on Suna._

_The girl, Arashi, looked up from her meal. Someone was coming to take her to the interrogation. His-or her-silhouette was slender and graceful. They were still a long way off, but suddenly she was seized with panic. Would they execute her? She was well aware that what she had committed was treason. But he had wronged her so dearly, had deflowered and dumped her to be closer to Gaara; he was on the elite guard. Gaara was going to become Kazekage soon._

_Her eyes, as pale as her father's, saw a glint of red off the hair of the silhouette and she studied their gait again—yes, it was Kirino Nai. He came into view a few seconds later, and two ANBU guards teleported in behind him. His red hair was tied back, casual stance and dress belying the sadistic mind within. Arashi knew that her old teammate was on the intel squad, but didn't realize how far he had risen in ranks, from a low-level spy to top interrogator. So it seemed._

_This was not going to be fun._

Gone was the flak jacket, her weapons pouches, any sort of supplies. All she had were her clothes and hitai-ate, a half-empty canteen of water, and two soldier pills. Arashi was running blind through the desert, knowing that if she could reach the forest, she was home free. It took three days to travel from Suna to Konoha, weather and chakra permitting.

Something was not right. Had any other person done what she did...they would have been killed outright, not interrogated and banished. The council or ANBU must have planned something out; a cursory riffle through her pants pockets revealed nothing. Neither did the search through the rest of her clothing.

Maybe something had been stuck up her ass. She wasn't that desperate to find anything, though. She still had her forehead protector. It had not been altered, and was tied around her arm like normal. So maybe the emblem of Suna was meant to be the message. For whom, though?

She had slipped on a piece of limestone a few hours after being unceremoniously thrown out to the desert. Whatever had happened to her back, it hurt like a bastard. Bled, too. She touched her left eye again as she ran, a criss-cross of lacerations that trailed down past her cheek bone. That one had been dealt by her _team mate_. Just for the pleasure of hurting another. Kirino had once been a nice boy. Quiet and spacey, but nice. Zappo hadn't been around though. He had been Kirino's polar opposite.

Tears welled up, blotting out what little of her vision she retained and causing considerable pain to her still-bleeding eye. It was amazing she hadn't passed out from shock yet. She tripped again.

As she caught herself, her already broken wrist was wrenched, eliciting a pained growl. Kirino had done that, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Two figures approached. One was almost a head taller than the other and carried a giant weapon—a sword—upon his back. The other had glowing red eyes that were visible even in the dark of the night. Both wore Akatsuki cloaks. Without question, they were headed for her.

The taller one called out first: "Think this is it?"

One glance from the red-eyed one.

Suddenly the tall man was staring down at her face. He reminded her of a shark, with fish eyes, small gills on his face, and wickedly sharp teeth. "Yeah, she's from Suna. Matches the description."

Kisame nodded at Itachi to step forward and put her under. The Uchiha noted that one eye was badly bruised at the socket and the other was bleeding, probably damaged beyond repair now. One of her wrists was purple and swollen, and dried blood had soaked through some of her shirt from behind. So she had been tortured. Not an uncommon practice in Suna.

Itachi pulled her up by the wrists, ignoring her shriek of pain. One look into his eyes, and pain would be felt no more. She was smart, must have recognized the Sharingan. He applied pressure to her wrist, coaxing her into pulling back enough to lock eyes.

Green stared into red.

Arashi's vision went black.


	2. Cleanse Thyself

AN: _Maigo_ is a Japanese word meaning "lost child", I believe. Not much else to say about this chapter except I decided to merge the old chapter 2 and 3 since they flow better as one than two.

(I really llike the feel of a certain moment. My previous AN had ... serious unfortunate implications, lol)

Enjoy! : )

x

Cleanse Thyself

x

Itachi carried their prisoner to the hotel. From the mission scroll, he had gleaned these facts: her name was Arashi Kurosumi; she was the heir to a once-powerful, but dying clan; she also possessed their unique bloodline limit, tainted as it was by previous generations; and she was the one who tipped Akatuski off about Gaara, his living quarters, daily routine, information that would be tantamount in eventually capturing him; her preferred fighting style was with dual-wielding two of some type of blade; he deduced that it was to avoid using her bloodline limit.

They arrived soundlessly at the decrepit little inn, a carefully hidden safe house of sorts for Akatsuki; the caretaker let them in swiftly and paused when he saw the girl.

"Ah, so, is her name 'Maigo'?" A smug look spread across the man's face.

The joke was not lost on Itachi. It would make a passable alias, though. "Of course, Kumo-san. Here is your payment." A few paper bills were dropped into the caretaker's hand.

x

Arashi awoke to the acute pain of her shirt being pulled away from her back. She was lying on her stomach on one of the beds. The tall shark-man was nowhere in sight. Probably in another room. She tried to turn her head the other way to get a look at the other one, then.

His Sharingan denoted that he was Uchiha. Coupled with the Akatsuki cloak, it was likely that she was beholding the infamous Itachi Uchiha. He spared her a glance before finishing stripping off her shirt.

"Clean up," he said, pulling her to her feet and pushing her through a door. "You will find what you need. Do not close the door; I will respect your privacy. If anything seems to be outside your grasp, do not hesitate to ask for my aid."

With that, he retreated to the far corner and sat in a chair.

Arashi half-closed the door and removed what was left of her clothes. Each movement brought a new sting to her back. It felt like it was being torn apart. She turned on the water and hesitated before stepping into the tub. If she showered, it would be excruciating, but if she filled the tub, she might not get clean. Eventually, she saw the washcloth and decided upon using that.

She was smart, resourceful. She would figure out how to get away from the Akatsuki and make her way to Konoha. Had to. When they found out she had given her knowledge up already, she would probably be killed and the bounty collected on her, if there was one.

After she had redressed, being careful of the wound on her back, she peeked past the door. Itachi was sitting in a chair, idly flipping through a book. It was a book typically found in hotels; upon closer examination, he was only pretending to read it.

Itachi glanced up at her, a nearly casual look, but it sent shivers down her spine. She was almost totally drained of energy. It would be child's play for him to overpower her. But that look told Arashi that he would never need to touch her to do so.

So she took a few cautious steps into the open. In the blink of an eye, Itachi had already appeared in front of her.

"You're going to kill me, aren't you," she whispered, eyes downcast, "when you get what you want?"

"There is the possibility of becoming an agent for us. It requires great skill," Itachi replied, with similar quietness.

"No. You're just saying that so I'll let down my guard...give you what you want." She glared up at him defiantly, not quite meeting his red Sharingan. Inwardly, she felt the stirrings of panic. There was nothing for her to give to Akatsuki, not an iota of information.

"And what do I want?" A ghost of a smirk appeared on Itachi's face.

"Information."

His red gaze lingered, contemplative. Then he pulled her to the chair and pushed her into it.

"Why patch me up when you're just going to kill me?"

"Pain causes desperation. Desperation causes falsehood."

He removed his cloak before kneeling in front of the chair. She was struck by how thin and wiry he was for someone so tall. He pushed her still-damp hair out of her face, Sharingan spinning, intently staring into her left eye. Out of one pocket came a small flashlight; it was glaring painfully into her eyes.

"You'll be blinded in that eye," he finally said. His tone was thoughtful.

"Why would you even care? It doesn't even matter, does it? Killing me won't be any more difficult than offing your cl—"

The back of Itachi's hand whipped across her face with a loud crack. The edge of his ring created a welt that trailed across her cheek. He continued without betraying any hint of his emotions.

"The flow of chakra has been cut off quite a bit, although the blood vessels are intact from what I can see. A skilled medic could have repaired it." Itachi paused for a few seconds. "I do not believe it is necessary to remove it. Turn around."

Arashi carefully stood up and turned so that Itachi could examine her back. The flashlight was replaced in the pocket.

Blood had begun to seep through the shirt; Itachi tugged it up. On her back was a deep scrape bordered by smaller abrasions. No chakra cut-off. Whoever had disabled her eye had known what they were doing, but a scrape like that was accidental, a wound of circumstance. He glanced at her wrists, noted that one was swollen and purpled. Unused. Probably broken. There were several small scratches along that arm. Torture, then.

"Don't move," he murmured, and darted elsewhere in the room.

Itachi returned with his personal first aid kit: antidotes to common poisons, a bottle of antiseptic, a small splint for minor fractures, a pair of forceps, needle and thread, tape, gauze, and a roll of cloth wrapping. He daubed a rag into the antiseptic, ignoring her subdued whimpers as he cleaned the scrape on her back. Occasionally there was a small rock lodged into her flesh; he plucked these out with the forceps.

Eventually, he finished cleaning and covering the wound with gauze wrappings. Arashi sat back down into her seat with a wince.

"Show me your wrist."

Reluctantly she gave him her hand, allowing him to twist it this way and that; she could barely feel the touch of his fingers upon her palm. He then tossed the bandage roll into her lap. Obviously he expected her to bite down on it when he straightened her wrist.

"No. You'll just have to re-break it. It's already been broken once," she muttered, glaring at the floor.

Itachi grasped her forearm and hand, testing its movement, finding the break. Then he pulled. A loud, meaty crack accompanied it, and blood rushed through her fingers along with the excruciating pain. She gasped, but remained in control of her reaction. Itachi grabbed the splint—a pair of small flat metal pieces—and held them in place while wrapping the bandages around her wrist very tightly.

Soon after, Sharingan caused her to fall into slumber. Itachi took the opportunity to clean and bandage her damaged eye. Perhaps she had been pretty before, perhaps not. It was of no consequence.

He deposited her prone form on the nearest bed and moved to secure the room.


	3. A Grain Of Salt

AN: If you want the full version of this chapter, it will be linked to on my profile via LJ. Sorry. I'm super paranoid about the Literate Union trying to get this story deleted for containing a snippet of script format, so for now, no interrogation transcript at the beginning of this chapter.

**Edit: I realized that she'd have to have had her wrist broken way longer ago than two days. Rectified that now.**

00

A Grain of Salt

00

Itachi closed the folder that contained the transcript. There was a tape; he had listened to it first. He opened another file with information on the people connected to Arashi and turned to the page about Kirino Nai: male; nineteen; marked sadist, prone to violence. It was quite different from Ibiki's methods.

He reconsidered the decision to kill her after extracting information; torture broke people. A person remaining unbroken from torture was quite rare in the shinobi world, although Kurosumi had talked willingly, supporting the small bit of trivia regarding Nai's sadism. Her ability to withstand the pain, knowing that more was coming, though…

He stopped his train of thought. There was no second guessing. There was no reason to be curious.

00

_I am taken to the infirmary. Nobody bothers to set my wrist, nobody bothers to do anything except spray an antiseptic on my eye and make sure I'm breathing. The adrenaline is starting to wear off. I feel weak. _

_I wake up in my cell. A quartet of ANBU come and take me to the outer gate. A spike of adrenaline keeps me from fainting again, and I know that somebody is tracking my movements, waiting to kill me if I stay in one spot for too long. I know that Konoha is to the east, that it's a three day journey. Maybe I'll make it before I die of dehydration. _

_I slip on a rocky outcropping. I tumble backward and slide ten feet across the sand, and I can feel the bits of gravel as they embed into my back. No time to be in pain. Got to keep moving. Running. _

00

Arashi was jerked awake by the tug of some kind of cord around her arms and hands. Itachi was binding her limbs, ensuring that she would not be able to escape in time to avoid being noticed. The more or less uninjured half of her face was buried into the mattress, shoulder painfully pressing against her torso.

Then she was lifted bodily to her feet and pushed toward the door leading to the hall.

"It would be to your benefit if you traveled at the same speed we do," Itachi murmured before knocking a pattern on Kisame's door across the hall.

He cracked it open and they exchanged a glance. Kisame stepped out and shouldered his great sword, tugging the Akatsuki uniform into place. "It's about time. I haven't fought in ages."

"There is no warrant for violence." _Yet._

"I guess, but for some reason people want to throw bodies at us, eh, Itachi-san?"

The taller, older man, Kisame, Arashi saw, deferred to the substantially-younger Uchiha. Itachi must be much more powerful than she thought; of course, the bingo book she read from last was from a few years ago. Only a dim recollection of the shark man, though.

"Wouldn't it be better if we carried her? I mean, we're going to kill her anyway." Kisame glanced at her and chuckled. "I don't suppose you've taken a shine to her, have you?"

"She would not willingly give the answers Akatsuki needs in this state of injury."

"You could simply… rip it from her head."

"I do not indulge in wanton cruelty."

Arashi breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was granted a measure of safety, a few more days to assess the situation and escape.

"Say, _Maigo_," Kisame said, emphasizing the clumsy nickname and chortling, "How'd you get so beat up? The romp through the desert?"

"I was interrogated." She swallowed drily. "Couple weeks ago."

"You are fortunate he only ruined one eye," Itachi murmured, tugging the loose end of the cord back to whisper in her ear. It was almost seductive, if it weren't for the implicit threat he was making.

Kisame hesitated for a split second before saying: "Well, I guess you do have a bit of a crush on her."

Arashi craned her neck to see the look Itachi gave him, but only saw the effect; Kisame's ever-present, unnervingly cheery laugh died down.

"Let's go."

She expected to see somebody at the front desk of the hotel, but there was nobody. They walked out the door and into a thick part of the surrounding trees. Then they were running, leaping through the tree branches. Itachi's grip on the cord forced her to be faster, or dislocate her shoulders, elbows, wrists, perhaps fingers. Even when she ran so fast that the cord tightened, he seemed to loom an inch behind her. Always threatening.

Relentless. That was it. Utterly relentless.


	4. Wanton Cruelty

AN: I _think_ the timeline's right. I don't think all that much time passes between chunin exams and Gaara's induction as Kazekage during the timeskip (2-3 months, tops), but correct me if I'm wrong, please.

You can view the full version of chapter 3 on LJ, as linked on my profile, as well as take a look at the music that inspires the fic, also on my profile. :)

Kyoiku means "sick, suffer, difficult", at least with the kanji I'm using. (you can find other meanings on a link in my profile)

Enjoy!

000

Wanton Cruelty

000

After nearly twenty-four hours of running through the forest, Kisame declared lunch. Almost immediately after stopping, Arashi collapsed to the ground. The earth began to spin and she was looking at the sky, the leaves making the pinpoints of blue even more brilliant.

There were two hot fingers at her neck, checking her pulse. A flashlight shined in her eye. She blinked away the brightness, so worn out she could barely move.

"Physical exhaustion." A pause. "Chakra levels are nearly normal."

"We should have just carried her."

"Would you prefer to…?"

"Nah…I'm usually the one who has to be the heavy hitter. You just sit there and point your finger and they start to scream. It's kind of entertaining."

"Point taken."

"I suppose after this little break for lunch we'll head that way?" Kisame pointed south.

"Yeah."

"What'll we do with her, though?"

"I believe one of our safe houses nearby is still functional."

"Oh, the one with …the…what's it called…" Kisame made some abstract gestures, tracing a shape in the air. "You know what I mean?"

Itachi nodded.

"So we can just dump her in there, knock her out and come back later. Works for me."

Itachi force-fed her a soldier pill. It would kick in faster than normal food, and last another three days. Perhaps longer, given the girl's compact frame. After what seemed ages, she could sit up. Itachi decided to carry her in the interest of time. Her head was curled up against his shoulder with back and legs supported by his arms.

She could hear his heart beating, sometimes, over the sound of his breath and the pounding of foot on branch. The snapping of stems and leaves. One of her arms started to go numb, doubtless a result of the binding.

She woke up to a whitewashed stone room, the paint peeling off the bricks. There was a metal door across from her, and a bar of fluorescent light above. She was laying on a sleeping mat, hands tied in front of her, back to back. A cursory look around the room revealed no windows. There were two vents on the ceiling for air circulation.

On the upside, she was still able to feel her chakra and manipulate it. There had to be a way up to the vents, get somewhere else in the so-called safe house. Get away.

Whomever had bound her wrists was very thorough; there was barely enough give to avoid cutting off circulation. No obvious knots to pull at with her teeth, even tying her fingers together. Not that it would have mattered, if she had better chakra control. One well-placed spike of current and the cord would have been severed.

No such luck, in her case. Itachi Uchiha was probably the greatest genius Konoha ever produced. More than likely, even if she had been able to get free of the restraint and climb the wall to get to a vent, the vent would have a trap. Or the door would have a trap. The shark-man had mentioned it was a _safe_ house.

She had fallen into restless slumber when the pair returned. It only took the scrape of metal on metal, the clang of the door on stone to wake her. Itachi held in one hand the first aid kit. The other was draped over the open part of the collar from inside of the cloak, as if it was a taunt to whoever had chosen to fight him: _I can take you with one hand tied behind my back._

When he got closer, though, she could hear his labored breathing. She could see the sweat streaming down his face and dampening his hair. Must have been quite a fight. He tugged at one of the loose ends of the knotted cord and her hands were free for the moment.

"Sit up."

Itachi sat down with crossed legs, slipped his arm back into his sleeve, and opened the med-kit in one smooth motion. With little ceremony, he quickly changed the bandage on her eye, ignoring how she paled and gasped at the pain. She turned around as he bade, bit at her tongue as he put a fresh dressing on her back as well.

Kisame strode back into the room and knelt down next to Itachi. "So…what makes you special enough for Akatsuki to pay attention to you?"

She frowned and looked at her hands. Mulled it over. "I have a…bloodline limit."

"Interesting. What can you do? Manipulate electricity? See through walls?"

"I don't have any sort of, ah, chakra nature."

Itachi raised one eyebrow. "I was not aware that was possible."

Arashi shrugged. "Yeah. It's been…kept secret. Most of Suna thinks our clan's ability died out before the last war."

"Why might that be?" he murmured, half to himself. Mutations were not unheard of, although a clan of mutations was stretching it. Something else, then. "Before the third great war?"

She bit the inside of her cheek anxiously. "Mhm."

"Do you know any…wind jutsu?"

"No."

"Earth?"

"I…I can't," she whispered. "I can't do it."

"She could be lying, Itachi-san."

"Do you know _any_ jutsu?" Itachi leaned forward a little, keeping his voice quiet.

"Y-yeah." Her tongue flicked over her dry lips. "Substitution. Clones. Really basic stuff."

"Substitution jutsu. Now."

Her aching fingers went through the hand signs and she appeared across the room, leaving a roll of bandages in her place. She crossed her arms and tried to ignore the headache starting to form. "Anything else?"

"Your nose is bleeding. Perhaps you should attend to it. I will be back later, 'Maigo.'"

She refused to confirm it until the Uchiha and his partner had left. It was worse than she thought, if doing a substitution caused a nosebleed. Tears stung at her eyes, causing another burst of pain. The stain of red on her hand recalled something her father told her, once.

"_You're the heir. If you're lucky. Let's hope you live past thirty."_

_She was six. "What does that mean, father?"_

"_Well. When I step down…you get to lead our clan. But, because you have inherited the bloodline…" He trailed off, turned away. His profile was silhouetted by the setting sun._

_Mother cautiously approached him, and placed a hesitant hand at his shoulder. "You can't tell her. Not yet. Please, Hayato. She's barely started at the Academy."_

_He turned his pale eyes to her. "Kyoiku…nothing would…"_

"_What's going on?" Arashi clasped her hands in front of her._

_Hayato looked down at his daughter with something akin to pity. He smoothed her unruly hair down. "I'll tell you when you're older."_

The pounding pain in her head distracted from the memory. She looked around the room again, and saw that there was a table and chair, a shower, and a lavatory set up. Her nose had stopped bleeding quickly after the discovery, but it couldn't hurt to clean up.

She curled up on the mat, later, and pretended that she was still in Sunagakure.


	5. House of Favors

AN: I tried something different out with this chapter, removing the characters' thoughts unless italicized. It's fun, but IDK if I could do that for every chapter. What do you guys think?

Apologies if it seems like it's taking a turn for the ItaKisa, because I promise it won't be unless I have decided to suddenly alter essential plot points XD

Enjoy!

000

House of Favors

000

Itachi's hands worked efficiently, redressing the ruined eye and back injuries. The occasional facial twitch was one of the few indications of pain Arashi gave. The bruise at her temple was fast fading to yellow.

"If I live…long enough to heal up…I'll probably be scarred. Won't I?"

"There is no probably."

"Damn it." She barked a laugh.

He replaced the gauze, bandaging, and other tools into his medical kit. His black ponytail slid over his shoulder as he bent down.

"Tell me about your chakra."

She stared at him, frozen by the question. She slouched down, hiding her face. "I don't know how it works. Not really."

He straightened his posture and looked at her, lifting one eyebrow slightly. The Sharingan was activated; it always was.

"Look…I—All I know? It doesn't matter what jutsu I use, my own chakra hurts me. Pretty soon I'll be a vegetable or dead." She shrugged. "Not even…not even the healers—"

"Your chakra pathways are weak. Some of them are broken. Your chakra is powerful enough that it destroys its own system, leaving the excess energy to rip into whatever is nearby."

"Oh." _Wonderful._

"There is still an excess due to chakra having a natural ebb and flow." A pause. "A skilled healer would be able to temporarily repair it."

"So I'm fucked either way." She turned to face the wall behind her. _You're no healer. Stop pointing out how a healer could fix me up._

They were silent for a few minutes. A panel slid open on the metal door, then slid shut with a loud clang.

"What was that?" she asked, whipping her head toward the door. She shrugged and murmured something to herself.

Itachi stared at the wall for a time, then stood and walked out of the room. He returned with a tray of food. Kisame followed and left the door to the room propped open after entering. Itachi sat down, but did not push the tray to her. Kisame leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"Our sources indicate that our information on Sunagakure has been limited to what two or three agents have procured. And much of that information is out of date." Itachi paused. "My partner is not as patient as I am."

"Really, Itachi-san? Good cop, bad cop? Heh." Kisame shrugged. "Old habits die hard."

Her gaze darted around the room before settling on the tray of food. Her throat moved as she swallowed.

"Our greatest area of weakness is with Suna's defense techniques."

Her face stilled, giving no indication of her feelings on the matter. "There is a network of shinobi whose job it is to check seismographs, in case of an attack from Iwagakure. We—there are also guards placed at intervals around the perimeter. The only weak point is from above."

"Perhaps you might wish to be more specific." Itachi leaned forward.

Kisame grinned. "Once a traitor, always a traitor, eh?"

Itachi's eyebrow seemed to twitch.

"The seismographs are…they're…they're put in a…latticework. Of tunnels." Her eyes closed. "The guards are blind to anything behind them." She frowned. "Take out the machines. Then the guards."

"We just want to make sure you aren't lying…'Maigo.'"

"I am more curious about the more specialized defenses. What of your ANBU?"

"Th—they guard the Kazekage?"

"Is there even a Kazekage to guard anymore?" Kisame shrugged.

"I don't know." Her eyes lingered on the tray again, hands clenching and unclenching at her thighs. "But rumor has it that they're going to put the…monster boy in the seat."

Itachi's head turned toward his partner. They nodded at each other, then left the room.

The door shut with a metallic thud; Arashi devoured the food, barely using the utensils given.

000

Itachi did not stop walking until they reached a small room with a communication console. The pair sat in their individual chairs. He tapped the ring finger of his right hand, with his Akatsuki ring on it, against the table's surface in agitation for a few seconds. Then he spoke:

"We need that clan history. Sasori can send a spy in to retrieve it. She knows nothing relevant, nor would she be willing to join us."

"Could keep her around, though. She'd make a good last resort weapon." Kisame shifted in his chair. Samehada was in another room. "Just need to time it right."

"What are you saying?" Itachi's eyes were riveted to the ring's red gem. The character for "vermilion" was on it, emblazoned in stark black.

"Well, as you said earlier, she's got powerful chakra. At least powerful enough to kill her own system."

"Would she know any of her clan's jutsu?" Itachi was lost in a thoughtful silence after that.

"I dunno. But still…how does she know any jutsu _at all_ if her own chakra harms her?"

"The damage is likely cumulative. Perhaps the healers couldn't figure it out, or they never noticed in the first place."

"So how long did it take you to figure it out?"

"As soon as we picked her up."

A dry laugh. "Then why make her do the substitution? Must have shorted her life a few years. Not that she'll really need them."

"I needed confirmation." Itachi's hand hovered over the keypad, anticipating the code needed to activate the array.

"Sometimes I wonder…Um, yeah. Yeah, send a message."

Itachi typed in the code and spoke into the microphone, trusting that it would adequately scramble the message. "This is Itachi Uchiha. I request that a spy be sent to Sunagakure to investigate the Kurosumi clan—history, possible bloodline, medical records. The intelligence should be sent to S-A-H-O-35AA." Then he turned the machine off.

"We'll not get a reply for a few hours." He stood, arching his back in a stretch. "Let's spar."

"Finally. I was hoping to give Samehada an exercise."


	6. Filling the Holes

AN: Taking a break from the ~lovely protagonist~ to do some exposition! Really short but also pretty important. College is going very awesomely, btw!

Enjoy!

000

Filling the Holes

000

_To SAHO35AA:_

_I regret to inform you that there is very little record we can find of the Kurosumi clan's history; much of it has either been blacked out or destroyed. They did keep excessively detailed medical records, though, and I have forwarded summaries of every clan head and his or her family from a few years before the second great war onward. _

_Summary of Package: 150 medical histories, 20 pages worth of clan history, and intelligence reports on possible bloodlines._

Itachi set the note aside and opened the front cover of the binder. Sometimes he wrote notes in the margins. He imprinted each page into his mind as he read with Sharingan, the memory forever associated with the smell of the incense burning in the next room.

_The great general Arashi, called Kurosumi – Black Willed – by his peers for his brilliant use of subterfuge and manipulation was also known for his affection towards his family. He may have changed the face of the First War, were it not for the equally brilliant teamwork of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. In fact, this epithet became adopted by Kurosumi's descendants and is now used as the clan's surname in official records._

_000_

_Little is known of the secretive Kurosumi clan outside of being creators of several now forbidden jutsu and the general Arashi. They bear a common appearance of dark hair and pale eyes, though whether this correlates to a particular bloodline ability is unknown. Quite a few weapon masters have been found from within their ranks, and many members of this clan go on to join the ranks of ANBU. _

_000_

_While the clan formed by Kurosumi no Arashi's _[ed. note—uncertain if name is "Arashi of the Black Will" or "Tempest of Black Will"]_ descendants enjoyed much fame and celebration in the twenty years between the first and second Great Wars, they seemed to disappear from the records after the Second Great Ninja War. Their fall from glory is a subject of much controversy; what spurned it on? What is the source of the sudden cloak-and-dagger? Why hide in the shadows?_

_What is the Kurosumi clan's secret?_

_000_

_(a few lines of text, written in code, seemingly by Itachi Uchiha)_

_Sources conflict. _

_Some fictionalization is taking place; only one or two common threads present in each document._

_Medical records far more useful._

_Common physical traits: dark hair,light colored eyes. Of interest is that only carriers of the kekkei genkai have both of these. _

_I believe that during the interim between the first and second Great Wars, a mutation developed, as indicated (arrow in ink drawn to a specific chart), and its traits have evolved to be far less useful as a bloodline. Only reference as example of bloodline is Arashi Kurosumi, seemingly named for the general._

__

Need more data.


	7. Change of Plans

AN: Sorry guys, got sidetracked by my ItaHina fic!

Also I have no idea if anybody reading this is aware of the very first version of this story. You can find it on my quizilla, poisonously, if you're morbidly curious. And while I have a cover idea, if you want, you can e-mail me one. Always curious to see how others look at things! :) Can find contact details on my profile.

Enjoy!

000

Change of Plans

000

Arashi began to do stretches and taijutsu warm-ups at the first opportunity, in secret. Her muscles were wiry, defined still, despite the past few weeks of inactivity. Her broken wrist was mostly unusable, so she avoided complicated acrobatics.

Itachi and Kisame returned from a mission unnoticed and caught her in the middle of a turning kick. She landed badly, the door's creakiness having startled her.

"Say, Itachi-san. Do you think we should tie her up again?"

Itachi ignored him. "How long have you been doing this?"

She stared up at Itachi. "Uh..."

"So you're saying you want her to ...?"

"Perhaps."

"You never let me have any fun."

"Your definition of fun does not apply to the mission."

"True...Samehada doesn't really mix well with our assignment."

"Arashi." Itachi paused. "Spar with me. No ninjutsu or genjutsu."

Itachi removed his cloak and fell into a stance.

Arashi shifted her weight and slouched her posture, but otherwise did not move. An unskilled eye might see a relaxed civilian.

_This should be interesting._ Kisame shrugged and propped Samehada against the wall.

"Don't maim each other too badly...Begin!"

Both of them moved so fast their actions were a blur.

Arashi had managed to take a kunai from Itachi's weapon pouch for herself and resumed that oddly relaxed stance again after they leapt away from each other. She twirled the weapon around one finger. When Itachi disappeared again, she stabbed at the air behind her...

_Not bad, kid._ Kisame chuckled. _Not bad at all._

...Only for her wrist to be caught in Itachi's grip. She aimed a kick at his groin, but her heel met air. She used the momentum to spin into a crouch. Itachi had disappeared from view.

_Not left...right...can't be below...not behind..._

"That all you have, Uchiha?" she muttered.

"Hardly." A kunai was pressed to her throat.

_Of course! Above._

Her elbow jab connected with his ribs, and she used the opportunity to gain some ground and take a second kunai. After a brief hesitation, she entered a dual-wielding stance.

She did not hesitate in her offensive.

Itachi dodged the first swipe, bringing a kunai up to block the second. Arashi stepped back and flipped over him. He chopped the side of his hand at her broken wrist, then grabbed it.

She glared at him, dropping the kunai with a curse.

"Submit."

The other weapon she was holding clanged when it hit the floor.

Itachi dodged the punch and simply caught her other wrist.

"_Submit._"

She looked at the floor, chest heaving. Her shoulders slumped.

"I must say, kid, you managed to do pretty well. Don't suppose you had ANBU training?"

That _struck a nerve._ Kisame smirked.

Arashi gaped. "H-how would you...?"

"Lucky guess." He strapped Samehada back on. "You two have fun..."

"That's classified information," she said dully. Itachi let go of her hands.

"Perhaps killing you will not be necessary."

The door shut behind him with a bone-rattling clang as he caught up with Kisame in the hallway.

"You've forced her hand," he eventually said. "I believe she was omitting that to use as a trump card."

"I enjoy keeping people on their toes, Itachi-san." He paused, then added: "Or whatever's left when I'm done."

"And if she was not a member of ANBU? What then?"

"Are you actually angry? That's new." He chuckled. "And if your positions were reversed...I have a feeling you would react just the same."

Itachi was silent.

Kisame spoke again.

"I acted on a hunch, and the hunch was right. It's all in the body language."

"Why would it not mention that on her file? Our agents are extremely thorough."

"Yeah, I think there's more going on than just picking up a possible informant, here."

"Your grasp of the obvious does wonders for clarifying the issue at hand."

"Ha. Aren't you funny."

"What if..."

"What are you thinking?"

"Who first reported her to Leader?"

"Sasori, why...? Oh. _Ohhh._" Kisame nodded. "I get what you mean."

"Not all the pieces fit together here. One informant is not worth a pair of Akatsuki."

"One informant with little-to-no use as a secret weapon."

"Information barely worth a low-level agent."

"Looks like Sasori may have an agenda all his own. Should we report this to Leader-sama?"

"Not yet."

"So you have something in mind, do you?"

"Yeah."

Before retreating to his room, Itachi glanced down at his ring.

He sat down at the desk, set some incense to burn, and opened up Arashi's file again. He combed through it, underlining phrases that suggested she was more than just a special jonin. Special commendation here, disproportionately high number of A- and S-ranked missions there, various mentions of prodigious abilities. Placed into a team with two boys, both two years older than her.

At Konoha, such a precocious child would be tutored privately until an age where she could be placed on an age-appropriate team.

(Itachi, however, was promoted to chunin before a team that matched his abilities was found.)

He looked over the statistics charts of each member of her team, and nothing was out of the ordinary in terms of team make-up. Kirino Nai, a specialist in summoning contracts; Zappo Hachimaki, mid-range, no particular weaknesses...but no particular strengths either; Jikan Hige, their Jounin commander, used a unique time-slowing ninjutsu and was a powerful genjutsu master. And Arashi, the close-ranged taijutsu specialist rounding it out.

There was a brief gap in the classified intel the agent had found. A brief gap of approximately two years, and it ended roughly two months ago, when she turned herself in for leaking sensitive information to Akatsuki.

But what was the catalyst to this?

Personality lacking in impulsivity.

Personal relationships unknown outside of teammates.

Ah, there it was: a note from the agent mentioning that she and a certain Zappo Hachimaki were closely-knit comrades, but had some type of falling out a few days before the alleged leak of information.

There was also a gap in records from two years ago to the leak.

The corner of Itachi's mouth quirked up, briefly, as he sifted through each paper.


End file.
